Club Notes - 23/07/18

U.16 Championship

Clann 7.14 Elphin/Ballinameen 1.9
Our Westside Dental sponsored U16's came out on top in their second game of the Championship on Sunday morning last in Johnstown. Before the game a minutes silence was observed following the sad passing of Mrs Teresa Whyte.

The hard work was done in the first half where Mark Naughton, John Shine and Fionnan Henry took some great scores and we led 4.10 to 0.4. In fairness to our visitors, they battled well after a first half onslaught from the Clann boys and showed great character to make the 2nd half a closer contest.

Special thanks to Daniel Harney and Westside Dental for sponsoring a new set of jerseys for the U.16 squad.

U.14 Championship

Clann 7-7, Kilmore/Shannon Gaels/St Ronans 5-10
Exactly one week after their defeat to Strokestown, Clann were really up against it to deliver a result this week, if they were to have any prospect at all in the championship campaign. Their newly promoted opponents, an amalgamation of three clubs in the north of the county, were an unknown quantity, which added apprehension to the hosts preparations.

Despite a positive start, claiming the first point of the game, Clann were dealt a hammer blow in the first 5 minutes, when their talisman Full-Back had to be blood-substituted, with a nose injury. (Thankfully Eoghan has since recovered well, with no serious damage sustained). Within that time, the visitors attacked strongly, and were rewarded with a 1-2 tally. Clann were finding it tough to score, and squandered a series of chances throughout the first period. On the run up to the end of the half though, they had started to build some momentum, and their efforts yielded two cracking goals, the last one on the stroke of half time. Clann 2-6, Kilmore/Shannon Gaels/St Ronans 1-4.

It was during the second half that the game burst wide open. A tennis-like exchange of goals at either end of the pitch delighted the respective supporters as the half progressed. Clann would take the lead, only to lose it again to the visitors, who in turn yielded the lead again to Clann as the game drew to the closing stages. 4 goals in the last 8 minutes (2 apiece) kept everyone guessing, but in the end Clann held their nerve and claimed victory by only a kick of a ball, 7-7 to 5-10.

While Clann can be proud of their determination in grinding out a result, they will know that this performance will not be good enough if they are to contest any kind of playoff or semi-final. It’s not that any individual let them down (all played reasonably well), or that they didn’t play as a team (they did - in spells at least). Consistency was an issue… and Clann will have to raise their game to a whole other level to have any chance in their next fixture – away to a side that are the reigning League champions, and undefeated so far this season - Roscommon Gaels next Thursday in Lisnamult.